Satellite broadcasting of information may involve substantial infrastructure to deliver signals to terrestrial satellite receivers. For example, a plurality of ground-based microwave transmitters may transmit information to a plurality of satellites along a communication uplink. The plurality of satellites may be in geostationary orbit in a corresponding plurality of orbital slots. Each satellite may retransmit the information toward ground locations as one or more satellite transponder signals via a radio frequency communication downlink. A satellite antenna, or outdoor unit (ODU), usually mounted to a building housing the satellite receiver, may receive the one or more satellite transponder signals. Such ODUs are commonly used at both residential and commercial venues to receive satellite television service.
To receive the satellite transponder signals at their various orbital slots, the ODU must be correctly aligned along the correct azimuth, elevation, and tilt angles, depending on the geographic location of the ODU. Current methods for aligning ODUs tend to be complicated, and are generally only carried out by specialized technicians using a specialized signal meter that contains satellite downlink information on which the alignment process may be based. The signal meter is typically connected directly to the ODU via a coaxial connection. The technician then proceeds through the course alignment process, followed by the fine alignment process, which may require a multitask procedure of monitoring the signal meter while simultaneously rotating the ODU and recording the rotations, as well as performing manual calculations.
Further, satellite downlinks change over time due to capacity increases, modulation standards, geographical service areas, and installation verification thresholds. This in turn may affect the desired alignment for a given ODU. Because of this, a standalone signal meter, which might not be network connected, requires manual updating to avoid improper ODU alignment.